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Law the Podcast with Lex Lasry

38:23 recording · EN · 2 speakers

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Brief overview

Retired judge Lex Lasry explains why he left the bench and what Australian criminal justice gets wrong.

  1. He resigned over a secret DPP complaintLasry was hearing DPP prosecutions while the DPP's complaint against him sat with the Judicial Commission, known to everyone but him.
  2. Opposing the death penalty is his legacyHe fought death penalty cases including Van Nguyen's, and argues killing an accused drops the community to the criminal's level.
  3. Mandatory sentencing removes judicial trustLife for murder and a 25-year minimum for domestic murder in the Northern Territory leave no benefit in pleading guilty.
Executive Summary AI
  • Michelle Laurie introduces Lex Lasry, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria who spent nearly two decades on major murder trials and has now retired for the third time after 19 years as a judge and 34 years at the bar, launching Law the Podcast with barrister Greg Barnes.0:36
  • Lasry recounts the Eastern Freeway case that killed four police: the Crown dropped four manslaughter charges against the driver's manager without explanation, he granted a stay that the Court of Appeal resoundingly overturned, and in February of 24 he learned the DPP had complained about him to the Judicial Commission the previous August, so he resigned.3:35
  • Asked about his legacy, he says it will be his fight against the death penalty in Australia and overseas, including the Van Nguyen case that he and Julian lost when their client was executed, and he warns that Pauline Hanson wants to reintroduce capital punishment.13:12
  • He criticises mandatory sentencing as parliament telling courts it does not trust their discretion, pointing to the Northern Territory where murder carries mandatory life and killing a domestic partner a 25-year minimum, and notes that women who kill violent partners can usually run self-defence.18:51
  • On his Northern Territory work he says roughly 85% of the prison population there is Indigenous against maybe 10% of the population, calls it evidence that the country has failed Indigenous people, and praises judges who learn the language and the Northern Australia Aboriginal Justice Group.33:21
Key Quote
“I just don't want to do this anymore. I've been a judge for 19 years, 34 years at the bar.”
— Lex Lasry2:01
Key Quote
“we're not telling you, we're just not proceeding with them.”
— Lex Lasry4:13
Key Quote
“I was the subject of a complaint by the DPP. I was hearing cases being prosecuted by the DPP. No one told me I was the subject of complaint.”
— Lex Lasry5:23